Suicide and schizophrenia : a review of literature for the decade (1990-1999) and implications for mental health nursing

This paper presents an overview of recent evidence on general and specific risk factors for suicide in patients with schizophrenia. The authors highlight the significant factors contributing to the likelihood of suicide in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. This information will enhance the delivery of nursing care to these patients in all health care settings. A review of literature was conducted by two methods of investigation: Medicine and CINAHL search and a manual search through articles from 1990 to 1999. The lifetime risk of committing suicide is estimated at about 9-13% of persons with schizophrenia and it is 20 to 50 times higher than that in the general population. Young white males diagnosed with schizophrenia who are depressed, unmarried, unemployed, socially isolated, and functionally impaired and who lack external support are the most vulnerable in the early stages of schizophrenic illness. Findings can be instrumental in identifying and treating patients who are most vulnerable and in making psychiatric nurses aware of the scenarios and critical stages of the disease process when suicide is most likely to occur

Assessment of cognitive function in heart failure patients

BackgroundResearch on the cognitive capacity of heart failure patients is limited, with a paucity of benchmark information available for this population. It is highly likely that cognitive deficits affect patients\u27 understanding of disease and treatment requirements, as well as limiting their functional capacity and ability to implement treatment plans, and undertake self-care.AimsThe purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive neurocognitive profile of the heart failure patient through systematic neurocognitive assessment and to determine whether an association existed between severity of heart failure and cognitive abilities.MethodsThirty-eight patients were recruited from the heart failure patient databases of two metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were individually assessed using four standardised, internationally recognised neuropsychological tests that examined current and premorbid intelligence, memory and executive functioning.ResultsAlthough there was no significant decline from premorbid general intellectual function, other specific areas of deficit, including impaired memory and executive functioning, were identified. There were no significant correlations between heart failure severity and the neurocognitive measures used.ConclusionThe results support the need to recognise cognitive impairment in people with heart failure and to develop an abbreviated method of assessing cognitive function that can be easily implemented in the clinical setting. Identifying cognitive deficits in this population will be useful in guiding the content and nature of treatment plans to maximise adherence and minimise worsening of heart failure symptoms.<br /